Sheet Conveying Apparatus Movable Regulating Guide
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sheet conveying apparatuses face challenges in easily removing sheets that become jammed on the conveying belt, which disrupts the conveying process and can lead to image misalignment during image formation.
Innovation Solution
A sheet conveying apparatus is designed with an endless conveying belt, rotatable balls, a regulating guide, and a guide moving unit that allows for easy sheet removal by moving the guide towards a take-out port when a sheet is stopped, ensuring minimal interference with the conveying process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a fixed regulating guide is provided on one side of the conveying belt to guide sheets during conveyance, then sheet guidance and alignment are improved, but accessibility for removing jammed sheets deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The regulating guide is made movable along the conveying belt width direction by a guide moving unit, allowing it to switch between a guide position (for normal sheet alignment) and a retracted position (for jammed sheet removal). This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by providing both precise guidance during operation and easy accessibility when jams occur.
2Ease of operation
If a take-out port is provided on the side opposite to the regulating guide for removing jammed sheets, then accessibility for sheet removal is improved, but the regulating guide must be movable to accommodate this, increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The regulating guide is made movable along the conveying belt width direction by a guide moving unit, allowing it to switch between a guide position (for normal sheet alignment) and a retracted position (for jammed sheet removal). This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by providing both precise guidance during operation and easy accessibility when jams occur.
3Ease of operation
If the regulating guide is moved towards the take-out port when a sheet is stopped, then ease of sheet removal is improved, but the response time and control complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The guide moving unit proactively moves the regulating guide toward the take-out port when a sheet stop is detected, preparing the system for quick sheet removal. This preliminary action reduces the overall time loss by anticipating the need for guide repositioning before the user needs to access the jammed sheet.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient and user-friendly removal of jammed sheets, preventing disruptions in the conveying process and maintaining image alignment accuracy.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality balls that are disposed so as to face the conveying surface and configured to be rotatable in any direction while nipping the sheet with the conveying surface
Data Source
AI summary
To provide a configuration for allowing a user to easily take out a sheet stopped on a conveying belt. Regulating guides are disposed on both sides of a conveying belt in a sheet width direction Y and can guide both end edges in the sheet width direction of a sheet S being conveyed while being nipped by the conveying belt and the balls. A take-out port is provided on a side close to the regulating guide in the sheet width direction and serves as an opening for taking out the sheet stopped on the conveying belt. The regulating guide on a side away from the take-out port moves in the sheet width direction Y toward the take-out port when the sheet is stopped on the conveying belt.